Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Will the minister update the House on how the Australian government is supporting Australians with a disability?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for his question because he knows it has been this government that has put disability on the national agenda. It was this government that delivered record increases in the disability support pension and the carer payment. These have been very important increases in these pensions that help carers and people with disabilities.

Just today I have introduced legislation into the parliament to help make sure that the impairment tables that help to determine access to the disability support pension are regularly updated. The last time they were updated was in 1993, so it is certainly high time that they were updated to reflect advances in medicine and rehabilitation practice. Just last Friday the Better Start for Children with Disability program started. I want to say to every member of the House just how important this program will be to the around 9,000 children we expect to benefit. For children who have cerebral palsy, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and children born with sight or hearing difficulties, their parents will now be able to get access to financial support so that they can afford early intervention services for those children. This builds on the very successful program we have delivered over the last few years for children with autism, and we understand around 12,000 families and their children have benefited from early intervention services as a result of that initiative.

Mr Speaker, I hope you do not mind me mentioning that there have been 67 local councils sharing in grants of around $100,000 to help people with disability to get access to local facilities, and one of those facilities is in the local arts and convention centre in the City of Whittlesea. Another initiative that is taking place, and which was one of our election commitments, is the building of 150 supported accommodation places for people with disability through a new innovation fund.

As part of our efforts to deliver a clean energy future, we will be providing assistance to people on the disability support pension and those on the carer payment. We are very pleased to be able to provide additional support through an extra payment to those who are eligible for Australian government concession cards and who have high essential electricity costs due to a medical condition or disability. Those people will be provided with additional support as we deliver a clean energy future.

Very importantly, we understand that there is more to be done and that is why the government gave a very important reference to the Productivity Commission that asks them to inquire into the feasibility of a long-term care and support initiative for people with disability. It has never been done before in this country. It is a very important initiative and we look forward to receiving the Productivity Commission's final report at the end of this month.